The small tent Rainbow Dash got to sleep in that night was made out of bound together strands of grass and twigs. It was not exactly comfortable to use. She would’ve figured anything coming from the giraffes would’ve been a little bigger. But she made it work and she was exhausted enough after listening to all that poetry and just plain dealing with the giraffes that she fell asleep really quick. However the thing was pretty itchy inside so she kept shifting about and waking up briefly through the night, all the way until just right before dawn when she wanted to wake up and get back to flying south.
The itchiness and her internal clock proved a good combination for her to wake up exactly when she planned. A few yawns and blinks were all she needed before looking around the cramped confines of her tent reminded her of where she was and how the previous day had gone. Rainbow Dash let out a long, exasperated sigh and shook her head.
“Well… least I’ll be gone soon,” she said and stuck her head outside the tent. A single flap of tightly woven grass being the only thing keeping the outside from the in.
She immediately came face to face with a giraffe.
“Gah!” Rainbow Dash cried out in surprise and fell back.
“This one apologizes. He did not mean to frighten you.”
Rainbow Dash groaned and looked at He Whose Neck Is Long as he stood outside her tent and leaned over, his neck stretching down low and low to almost ground level, all so he could be at eye-level with her. “What are you doing here, dude?”
“This one knew you were leaving early in the morning. You seem a very restless pony. This one came to offer you something before you left,” he said.
Rainbow Dash blinked and saw that beneath him sat a small loaf of bread on a wrapping of leaves. “Bread?”
“Food specifically kept for travelers who visit Dacty,” He Whose Neck Is Long explained. “It should be filling for you. If you plan on flying for the entire day you will want a full stomach. This one believes so at least, from what other travelers have said about traveling.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Rainbow said and stood up, stretching and getting all the kinks out of her body, before going over to the bread. “Thanks for this by the way. I was probably just going to eat some grass or something.”
“It is nothing that requires a thank you. This one is happy to help,” He Whose Neck Is Long said.
Rainbow Dash laughed briefly. “Heh, you giraffes. You guys are funny, that’s for sure.”
“This one is happy that you have enjoyed your visit here and find us amusing.”
“Yeaaahhh...” Rainbow Dash’s eyes glanced away, she quickly grabbed the bread and started stuffing her mouth with it as to change the subject. It wasn’t exactly the freshest or warmest bread she had ever had, but it was still a treat to eat right now. She tore into it fairly fervently and chewed it up with gusto before swallowing the bites of it, not leaving a crumb behind.
“Was it good?”
“Yep!” Rainbow nodded. She took a deep breath and flapped her wings, now flying up to his normal eye-level. “Well, it’s still a little dark out, but that’s no problem for me, I’m gonna get flying out of here. Thanks for all your help and everything, He Whose Neck Is Long.”
He Whose Neck Is Long blinked. “You’re welcome, Rainbow Dash. This one thanks you as well for an entertaining time.”
“It’ll be kind of unlikely, but nobody knows what the future holds, so maybe I’ll see you again someday? Who knows? But bye for now!” Rainbow Dash said and zoomed off over the trees, heading south of Dacty immediately. A glance over her shoulder showed He Whose Neck Is Long very slowly waving goodbye to her.
The rest of the day was spent blazing over giraffe territory at high-speed without a single stop.